NOTE: You are using our new chess viewer, "Olga."
For more info see the Olga Quickstart Guide. You can switch
back to the old viewer (pgn4web) from the pulldown menu below. If you have questions
or suggestions see our Olga chessforum.

Well underway! As I'm once again a day too late, I can simply state that I at least reviewed <27.Nxf5 gxf5 28.Rxg8† Kxg8 29.Qh6 Kf7 (Bf6/Bf8 30.Q(x)f8‡ 1-0) 30.Qxh7†! Kxe6 31.Qxf5‡ 1-0>. Thinking of any reply outside the box (so no gxf5) would be like playing the game. Although I have to admit that I missed 27....Qc8!, I did notice that 27.Nxf5 also opened the h-file and initiated some <rook lift> tactics with both Knights aiming at g7: the attacks are a plenty in the position, but I admit that 27....gxf5? loses unnecessarily fast. Would've played 27.Nxf5 without calculating quiet responses though: they just did not seem good enough, and ♙f5 was as critical as the h4-♘ I presume. Well, onto a complete week.

Check It Out: I really enjoyed this game. A nice positional French that explodes into a tactical melee. The French is a mystery to me whether white or black. Haven't yet read the kibitz by better chess players than myself, but 16...f6 followed by 17...f5 seemed to backfire, and 23...Kh8, pinning the black h pawn seems suspect. Of course, what do I know? Time to start reading...

death and glory: somebody can explain me why black cant take the knight after 27.nxf5?
i think he can get a good defense with 27...g6xn 28.qxf5 bg6! or maybe
27...g6xn 28.rxr+ kxr 29.qg2+ bg6 30.bxf5 qe8! and there is no problem for black to defence

Eisenheim: severus is artful with the puns - the only thing is that chess has nothing to due with luck. except for some reason everytime I win, my opponent says it was lucky, so I have to assume that I am lucky

Chess Carnival: I do agree that OTB theres no luck, only good and bad moves, but outside it i.e. regarding the players or the playing conditions yes you can be a lucky guy (your opponent is ill, he had a fight with his wife, he don't like the venue for the tournament, etc etc)

Chess Carnival: So in an overall sense there is luck in chess, because the result of the game is the logical consequence of the moves, but the moves are (logical?) consequences of the players and/or playing conditions.

Eisenheim: Chess Carnival - Yes, it is true as you remind me, luck can play a part. I won a game in Central Park and the sun was in the eyes of my opponent. One time there was a minor earthquake in California during a tourny and my opponent straightened out his queen and was forced to move it and lose it. and for bad luck, I was beating user TopalovRybka at an online blitz game and my server crashed forcing a loss to two (or is it one) of the greats.

YetAnotherAmateur: The interesting thing here is that positionally Ivanchuk has the game pretty well in hand by move 18 or so. The reason for this is that the black queen is completely paralyzed on b8, while the white queen roams fairly freely on the kingside.

zealouspawn: of course there is luck in chess. I'm willing to bet that all of us who have played OTB tourneys have calculated out a variation, and about halfway through playing the combination out you realize there's some defensive resource you didn't see earlier and you should lose.

Then you notice you have one obscure counter-resource to make the combination work again. You're lucky that resource exists, because it doesn't always and you just went from losing to winning.

Geronimo: Wow. That's a lot of game. Moves like 20.g4 and 34.Bf7 just kill me. Ivanchuk is one of the most creative forces in contemporary chess, even when his loony antics and time controls get him in trouble.

Pawnage: One thing I've noticed about Ivanchuk is his knowledge of when to trade bishops for knights. From what I've seen he exchanges them more than any other GM and the results are almost always good.

sevenseaman: Excellent hold on the center. Ivanchuk simply refuses to loosen the grip. The game ought to be ultimate dare for 'guess the move' addicts. For me, even finding 16. Bxb6 was a task too big.

Others that astound me are 29. Nh6 and 34. B f7. That is why I find this game an absolute topper, sublime.

I think it is the sheer volume of traffic that becomes a handicap for aficionados in seeing beyond 'Game of the century' et al.

I would have liked a much bigger tribute to Ivanchuk's genius as displayed in this game. Here on I'll remain a fan.

NOTE: You need to pick a username and password to post a reply.
Getting your account takes less than a minute, totally anonymous,
and 100% free--plus, it
entitles you to features otherwise unavailable.
Pick your username now and join the chessgames community!
If you already have an account, you should
login now.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.

No spamming, advertising, or duplicating posts.

No personal attacks against other members.

Nothing in violation of United States law.

No posting personal information of members.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform an administrator.

NOTE: Keep all discussion on the topic of this page.
This forum is for this specific game and nothing else. If you want to discuss chess in general, or
this site, you might try the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages
posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.